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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The euphoria is back after the scare. Europe’s woes seem to have obliterated from memories, as the world’s stock markets have bounced from high to high. The Singapore STI have crossed the 3000 mark and seem to been holding there. All this overwhelming optimism is coming in the midst of economic numbers that are less than encouraging.

Why?

This Thursday sees the meeting of nearly all the world’s monetary authorities. The financial markets expects economic boosters and any inaction will see selloffs. I worry if they decide to inject more money into the international money markets. As it is, the cheap money has flowed into selected markets like Singapore’s real estate sector. This has caused asset prices to go up.

If they do decide, expect another round of price increases. We already can see more money coming into Singapore as the local dollar has creeped up from the 1.28 mark to the current 1.24 level in the space of less than a month. More money is already flowing into our shores looking for homes. So far, a lot of it has been parked in deposits but if they decide to make a move well, another round if asset inflation can be expected. On the local front, many investors are trying to deploy their funds as well in search of better yields.

All these factors are brewing up the perfect storm. Some will be winners and some will be losers. I hope all of you make the right decisions. I have already committed to my next class thus I cannot cancel as quite a few people might be disappointed. It is scheduled from the 14 to the 16 of September, hope to see you there. I chose not to cancel this class I had emails like the below to encourage me. People like Clarence is the reason why I’m still sharing and I know I can make a difference.

“I am Clarence Long and I had attended your recent Property Investment Course last week (29th June). Thank you for the informative and intensive property investment course that you had prepared.

To be honest, I was having second thoughts of joining your course as it costed me most of my savings (I had just graduated from Poly). However after attending it, I knew that I will never regret spending on it.

Since young, I always have the goal in mind to be an entrepreneurial in two major sectors (F&B and Hotel) and a property investor- also hoping to be a developer. From the course, apart from gaining a wealth of knowledge on property investment, I understood more about your hardship and entrepreneurial career path. You are truly an inspiration to me, from chopping vegetables at the restaurant to pay your fees to becoming a successfu l person at a young age. The hard work put into achieving your current portfolio truly amazed me and I look forward to the day that I can be just like you.”

Hi folks, I hope all has been great with you. Well, I’m not feeling too well. I had earlier decided to teach a few more classes, but I’m having second thoughts. I have been teaching more as a hobby rather than to make a living. I have been very blessed to have a great career and my portfolio of property investments have done well. I love running my companies and the classes well, I do enjoy them but they are very extremely taxing.

Our education system has been training managers but not innovators. I have been trying my best to share with my students the many lessons very successful people have imparted to me. In essence, I’m trying to impart the real secret ingredients to financial success. I do pity our young especially those from the less privileged strata of society. Just think, a fresh graduate who aspires to own a car needs to work for 2 to 3 years just to pay off the COE costs let alone pay for the car itself. Well the good life is getting even more elusive in Singapore.

I have been sharing a little of myself but I’m tired. Recently, a friend told me about Mr Dennis Ng who has devoted himself to teaching financial freedom passed away after a seminar. I was very shocked as he was a nice guy from what I hear from the market. I just thought about him a couple of weeks ago.

Life is short and I need to be doing a few more things so I have to pass this burden to someone else, However, there are so many less than credible people who might be sharing nonsense that I’m worried. I cannot be responsible for everyone so I have to put my foot down. I have been honoured to share my experiences with many of you but I’m taking it easy from now onwards.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

What a month!

Just a month ago, we were worried about the European Crisis. Well, memories are short and guess what, we are in the middle of a bull run again. The Straits Times Index has crossed the 3000 mark and there is an air of cautious optimism. The ASEAN region is in play and international funds are looking at this region with new perspectives. For those of you who bought over the last couple of months, what I advised you to buy has gone up. Kudos to you, the people with the courage to make a move. I bumped to Daren this afternoon and he thanked me for highlighting value buys in this climate. I am certainly encouraged by his sincere thanks.

Developers seem to be launching new projects at a fast and furious pace. The number of residential launches is rather amazing, all you have to do is look at Saturday’s newspapers and you will be overwhelmed. The number of mass market units launched has reached a stampede level. All these developments have me worried. With record low interest rates, a new class of buyers has emerged. They are the group who can afford the lower monthly payments due the low interest rates. However, should interest rate move north, they will certainly be in trouble. I am worried even though I do not foresee a downturn in prices as I don’t see a bubble forming. However, I will not be rushing to buy a mass market condominium any time soon.

I had received many congratulatory messages from people in the real estate industry. They like our real estate investment strategies and I am sincerely flattered. These industry veterans have validated us and I am encouraged to share more. For this reason, I have consented to teach a few more classes to share with you how we invest in real estate. Tiring as it may be, I hope I am able to share such knowledge. More details will be revealed soon.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Simply amazing!

The Bugis Cube concept we introduced is quite interesting. Since we launched the first units over 3 weeks ago, the first buyers actually fliiped quite a few of the units and I found out today that some sub sales have transacted for up to $130 to 140 thousand premium!

Kudos to buyers who managed to get units as they laughing all the way to the bank. Commercial property prices have moved since then as quite a number of developers are upping their prices therefore creating an overall upward trend in prices of commercial property.

Developers are factoring commercial property prices at $4000 to $4500psf when determining how much to bid for land in new government land sales auctions. The bulk of our units have been sold and we have passed the 90 percent mark in sales. Some of the units are actually very good units and I am considering increasing the prices these units along with the market.

I highly recommended investors to go into the commercial property a couple of years ago and those who listened have profited. Even those who invested into my second pick of industrial property have seen very good returns as well. I have shared with my students the importance of trend analysis. Picking out the right trends can determine whether your success. There is a queue of participants for my property course and my guys are pushing me to teach a few more courses....

I am taking my time to decide; the only factor that I’m considering is that many property investors are still investing recklessly.

I hope to be able to share our style of prudent investing with all of you. If any of you can suggest how I can achieve that without me personally teaching, I will be very grateful.

The recent easing of the tension of the European economy has put many people’s minds at ease. The stock markets have already recovered to pre-crisis level. There is increasing confidence with international investors. The Chinese government has also cut rates and seems to be softening on their stance on property developers. All these factors have created comfort amongst investors. What can I say? People tend to have short memories.

I was in conversation with one of the property consultancy firm’s top guys today. He is seeing money that was bypassing Singapore and going to Australia to find deals actually coming back to Singapore. This is because the withholding tax situation down under is discouraging this money. We might see another round of price hikes in property prices over the next few months.

Hi Guys! I am writing to you from the air again. This time I am on the way back from the Land of the Rising Sun. I cannot feel but a little ...

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Andy OngFounder of ERC Holdings

Andy Ong Siew Kwee currently serves as the Founder of ERC Holdings. Under his leadership, the parent group has since established strong foothold in four business silos namely education ERC Institute , hospitality, training and property investment within two decades.

Ong is a strong believer in enabling startups and young brands reach their potential. Together with a group of partners, he founded the Entrepreneur’s Resource Centre (ERC) to help budding entrepreneurs transform their business ideas into sustainable models.

The recent venture into a co-working space; BIGWork , an ideation incubator lab; BIGFund and an immersive startup fitness concept; BIGFitness is a testament to Ong’s vision of staying at the forefront of innovation.

In the fashion of undying entrepreneurial spirit, Ong also pursued opportunities out of the education and training space. The BIGHotel was set up in 2013, and was later sold in a multi-million dollar deal.

To date, Ong has built a strong portfolio in a wide range of industries; he is the owner of several businesses in education, training, print media and property investments with a combined annual turnover of $200 million.

A multi-faceted talent, Ong is an author and a seasoned property investor too.

Ong has been featured on major media outlets such as CNBC, Bloomberg and The Straits Times.